This week Meghan Markle and Prince Harry made an appearance backstage with James Taylor, the singer-songwriter whose classic 60s folk sound puts him right in line with Meghan’s “yacht rock” musical taste. For the couple’s second concert in a single week, the duke and duchess went to the Santa Barbara Bowl to see Taylor, and on Instagram, Meghan shared photos of their backstage meet-up, along with the caption, “In my concert era.” In the photos, the musician is shown signing copies of his 2018 children’s book, Sweet Baby James, and posing with Meghan and a beanie-clad Harry.
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Meghan’s outfit was more low-key when compared to the yeehaw-appropriate denim dress she wore to a Beyoncé concert last weekend, but the smile on her face was just as big. She might be a very modern duchess, but she has a deep and abiding love for throwback habits and hobbies. From hospitality to calligraphy, the duchess is in love with the old world.
Ever since she started her first lifestyle website, The Tig, Meghan has been enthusiastic about her love of oldies music, long with the more gentle picks from the 2000s, like guitarist Jack Johnson. It was even expressed on her wedding day. In the 2022 docuseries Harry & Meghan, she said that she listened to “Going to the Chapel” by the Dixie Cups after she woke up on her wedding morning. During the service, she walked down the aisle to “This Little Light of Mine,” a gospel song that became a popular standard in the 1960s.
In an interview for the Godmothers bookstore Substack earlier this year, Meghan said that her mother, Doria Ragland, inspired her love for Taylor and other music from the era. “There was a lot of Joni Mitchell, Boz Scaggs, and James Taylor in my house growing up,” the duchess said. “There was also a lot of Anita Baker playing in the car on the drive to school. I was exposed to what my mom listened to versus ‘kids’ music,’ and I’m sure that informed my eclectic taste in music, lyrics, and rhythm and soul.”
During her Neflix show, With Love, Meghan, the music was very relaxing and the duchess even said that she loves to listen to “yacht rock,” the modern term for the type of soft rock that reached the heights of popularity in the 1970s, like Michael McDonald, Christopher Cross, Steely Dan, and Kenny Loggins. In the Godmothers interview, she said she intentionally wanted the show to reflect her personal taste in music.
“I love happy sing-along music that you can dance to in the kitchen, and I made sure that was represented in With Love, Meghan on Netflix,” she said. “That’s still reflected in what I play at home: The Beach Boys, The Supremes, Otis Redding, even Annette Funicello for fun pool-party music when the kids have a playdate.”
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